At the present the harvesting of certain fruits, and concretely olives, entails a number of expenses which, carefully analyzed, do not let the farmer, in this case the olive grower, cover the expenses arising from the preparation, treatment and consequent harvesting of the olives, all as a result of the fact that this harvesting is done most often manually and wages are at present very high.
Therefore, the only profitable way for the olive growers is to use in the harvesting machines which replace the labor, and undoubtedly there are devices or machines which fulfill these purposes.
In this sense we may cite the type of machines based on tongs which are clamped onto the trunk of the olive tree and by means of a corresponding motor for driving these tongs to produce a vibration thereof and consequently the vibration of the olive tree or other tree, causing the fruit to fall.
This method involves a greater deterioration of the tree, since that vibration to which the trunk is subjected in order that the branches will move and the fruits detach causes small roots to break, and the recovery of the tree is very slow, it having been shown and proven that the olive trees treated in this manner for olive harvesting produce approximately half as much the year following the treatment with this type of machine.
The machines referred to, therefore, regardless of whether they are complex and high-priced apparatus, present the afore-mentioned disadvantages.
To solve these problems, also cheaper machines have been devised, that is, simple machines which perform a direct vibration on the branches of the trees in order not to damage the roots, these simpler machines being based on a motor which through an adequate transmission produces a reciprocating movement in an output arm whereby precisely the vibration of the branches occurs.
These simple machines, although economical and generally efficient, are not made very scientifically, that is, they are manufactured practically in the manner of a craftsman, without thinking of their efficiency and possible maintenance. That is to say, the machines break down very easily as they are not properly researched and engineered with respect to the characteristics and layout and mounting of their elements.